Hooking LED's to courtesy lights

[jayson_waltz]

I'm trying to hook LED's in my car so that when i open the door they come on with the courtesy lights. i'm trying to hook into the courtesy lights but they are ground switched so i can't b\c i'm wiring it so the LED's come on with a switch and when the doors open. does anyone know of a wire in aleros that turns pos. when the doors open? or a way to get 1? i dunno its a confusing explanation but i'm confused so i can't really explain it well. i'll probably post more as i think more...

[TheMeaningOfLife]

I just replaced the bulds with the new colored ones, looks ok at night, i bet the 194 LEDs thast hook right up would be good.

[DUSTIN0285]

are you replacing stock bulbs with led's or are you adding led's in new spots without lights?

[cherrington17]

if the switch is grounded... why not connect the ground wire for the led's to that one you had found. they won't turn on, if it doesn't have a good power or ground.

I've looked for one in my car, but the only courtesy lights i have, is a dome light. The member "cyberknight" who used to post on here (he might still be around) had 194 bulbs, that he just destroyed one, and used the empty male connector for his +/- for courtesy light wiring.

[jayson_waltz]

Originally Posted by cherrington17

if the switch is grounded... why not connect the ground wire for the led's to that one you had found. they won't turn on, if it doesn't have a good power or ground.

I would if I wasn't running the led's through a switch also.

1st pic would be ideal but to get that i would need a module or something like the 2nd pic.
Which I don't even know if they make a module like that. If they do i would love to know where to get 1. So that is mainly my problem all b\c they had to ground switch the dome light.

[steve-o]

Originally Posted by jayson_waltz

I would if I wasn't running the led's through a switch also.

1st pic would be ideal but to get that i would need a module or something like the 2nd pic.
Which I don't even know if they make a module like that. If they do i would love to know where to get 1. So that is mainly my problem all b\c they had to ground switch the dome light.

its called a relay. but why don't you just use a constant positive, and have the switch as a ground. you don't need a positive current running through the switch.

Edit: After looking at the second picture a bit more, its a bit confusing. So are you saying that when the door is open you get a ground, and when it is closed you get positive?

[cherrington17]

I believe that is how to door wires work. but if thats the case why would you want a switch connected as well? The lights would natrually turn on when the wire in the door is "on" and off when it grounds out.

I'd say just run two sets of LEDs. One on w/ courtesy, one on w/ the switch....

[jayson_waltz]

Originally Posted by steve-o

its called a relay.

unless u know a combination or something to use but 1 can only control pos. or neg. at 1 time, not both at the same time( as far as the relays i've seen).

and ya cherry this is just getting annoying trying to firgure something out i'll probably just put colored bulbs in now for when the doors open.

now to go pray that we don't get the effin 4 inches of snow places around us are getting. ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND!!!! ND blows.
**edit**damn its snowing pretty good(should i say bad?) right now. guess i'll have to get the snowmobile out

[steve-o]

doing a little searching on 12volt.com I found this.

http://www.the12volt.com/installbay/...ts.asp~TID~848

[Satsuriku]

what i did to get my LEDs in the courtesy light is i disconnected the battery, i removed the light sockets from under the dash by twisting it counter-clock wise and pull it out, i then cut the socket from the wires but still left enough to work with. take the sockets inside and install the LED's much like you would when changing to LED's for your cluster guage but remember to connect a resistor for 12v applications or else shes gonna fry. once its in there, solder the wires back together under the dash and place the socket in its repective place and twist and lock it in.

thats what i did with mine and it worked like a charm and never had a problem and i got it in 1 shot.

or you could just by the 194 leds and slide it in there but in my opinion, its much more effective to rip the crap out and re-solder it

[Cyber Knight]

Yes, it depends on the year of your car. Apparently they don't all have the floor lights. If they do you can tap into those easily, otherwise you have to tap into the dome light or find out where the dome light wiring goes.